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Topic: Dragon Fruit thread. (Read 323434 times)

Thought I would start a Dragon Fruit thread. Would love to see dragon fruit setups and talk about what varieties are being grown and how they taste. Will start by saying im growing 3 varieties in containers; Purple Haze, Physical Graffiti, Yellow Dragon. I am also working on rooting a few cuttings of different varieties. Have not gotten fruit yet, but expecting to maybe have it this year.

I have Hylocereus undatus: many flowers and fruits.Hylocereus polyrhizus: red flesh, 1st time flowers last year, no fruits set.Hylocereus megalanthus: still very short, hardly growing at all, supposedly the fruits have yellow skin.In the photos below, one 1 is of the red-flesh variety (H. polyrhizus). Notice that the flower buds have different coloration and the branches have different thorn pattern than the more popular H. undatus.I also have a small branch of Physical Graffiti, not sure what its scientific name is.

I would classify that over half of the fruits were on the sweet side, the rest kinda bland. I've heard that after the fruits set, you're supposed to reduce watering to get sweet fruits. I honestly don't remember my watering pattern when I had the fruits, it was over last summer, and it was pretty hot and dry here in my area, so more than likely I didn't withhold water. Will try to leave them thirsty this coming summer.

I have 7 different kinds of dragonfruit in 3 gallon pots. I don't really have a 'setup' for them yet. I need to build some beds with wooden frames for them to climb and then I could cover them when it gets too cold. I am in a zn 9a (NE Florida) so I have not put them in anything permanent because I move them into the greenhouse during the winter months. I also bought a lot of my dragon fruit from mattslandscape 3 years ago. The plain H. undatus I have had for 5 years. I really need to do something with them. I'm such a mean dragonfruit mommy!! hahaI also grow orchid cactus (ornamental epiphyllums) but just keep them in clay pots with hangers.

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Growing edible and ornamental tropicals and subtropicals and many night bloomers on 4 acres in zone 9a. Learning to live a more self sustainable lifestyle with chickens and other livestock.

I forgot to post my varieties lol: So far I have: Red Jaina, Costa Rican Sunset, Yellow Dragon, Physical Grafitti, H. undatus ( I think this is the plain white one it is the first one I bought and that is all the tag said), Voodoo Child, American Beauty. Some are much bigger than others. Some seem much slower growing than others.

Are you guys growing your dragonfruit in full afternoon sun or dappled afternoon sun?

sjn: how cold does it get in your area? I'm not sure that your DF need any protection. Mine are in full sun, with several summer days over 100 F (usually 90s) , and in the winter with low temps around the 30s.

Well it seems to vary. This winter we only had a few days under 32, one in the 20's. The winter of 2009, we had several days down into the teens lol. I think it usually gets into the upper to mid 20's F a few times in the winter and several nights of 32F. It warms up pretty good during the daytime. I have only been here 3 1/2 years so far so kinda figuring it out as I go. We got up into the 100's F a few times last summer but the direct sun here is not as burning hot as when I lived on the west coast, probably due to the humidity.

Soooo I am thinking, if I built a long wooden raised bed with a tall 2x4 frame around it I could cover it if I needed to and possibly even stick a small heater in there if it gets too cold.

Lenette

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Growing edible and ornamental tropicals and subtropicals and many night bloomers on 4 acres in zone 9a. Learning to live a more self sustainable lifestyle with chickens and other livestock.

Has anyone seen a list which definitively distinguishes between the different species? There is much information available from nurseries and websites that lists characteristics of some species, but the more you look the more that it becomes apparent that most people are simply repeating what they have been told or read somewhere. Making matters worse is the renaming of dragonfruit cultivars by reputable nurseries such as Pine Island. I believe that it was Murahilin that discovered that many of their named cultivars formerly had different names when they were grown by the late Jim Thompson of California. Any chance you've still got that list Murahilin?

Great topic nullzero! I'm currently growing Halley's Comet, American Beauty, Vietnamese White, Yellow DF, Frankies Red and something I call Simon's Red. The Vietnamese White is the easiest to grow and fruit for me. I have the most difficult time growing the Yellow DF outdoors but the easiest time growing it indoors under T5 lighting. My yellow DF grew 3 branches, each that grew about 2 feet in about a month and a half in the winter indoors.

I just took cuttings from each plant and I'm going to start new with a planned out set up. Previously, I just stuck them in a pot and let them climb everywhere. They grew and fruited well this way but it was sloppy looking. This time, I'm going to try growing them in smart pots and grow them as a DF tree like they do in Vietnam.

I grow my DF in full sun but they do get burned in the summertime. This summer, I may throw some shade cloth over them during the hottest part of the summer. Simon

Great topic nullzero! I'm currently growing Halley's Comet, American Beauty, Vietnamese White, Yellow DF, Frankies Red and something I call Simon's Red. The Vietnamese White is the easiest to grow and fruit for me. I have the most difficult time growing the Yellow DF outdoors but the easiest time growing it indoors under T5 lighting. My yellow DF grew 3 branches, each that grew about 2 feet in about a month and a half in the winter indoors.

I just took cuttings from each plant and I'm going to start new with a planned out set up. Previously, I just stuck them in a pot and let them climb everywhere. They grew and fruited well this way but it was sloppy looking. This time, I'm going to try growing them in smart pots and grow them as a DF tree like they do in Vietnam.

I grow my DF in full sun but they do get burned in the summertime. This summer, I may throw some shade cloth over them during the hottest part of the summer. Simon

Simon,What do you suppose is the reason that the yellow DF is more difficult to grow? I have a yellow DF branch, I stuck it into the ground next to the others, it just withered and died, while the others grew normally. Why does it grow better indoor? Humidity?

I have Hylocereus undatus: many flowers and fruits.Hylocereus polyrhizus: red flesh, 1st time flowers last year, no fruits set.Hylocereus megalanthus: never could adapt to my area, is now dead, supposedly the fruits have yellow skin. Maybe I need to grow it indoor?In the photos below, one 1 is of the red-flesh variety (H. polyrhizus). Notice that the flower buds have different coloration and the branches have different thorn pattern than the more popular H. undatus.I also have a small branch of Physical Graffiti, not sure what its scientific name is.

I did a little research on the yellow dragonfruit. Its botanical name is Selenicereus Megalanthus. It is not in the same family as the Hylocereus. It seems to like more shade and a sandier mix and not as much water as the Hylocereus varieties. I found a research paper that said the Selenicereus Megalanthus is a tetraploid whereas the Hylocereus is a diploid. So they are more different than I thought. I saw another research paper that said the S. Megalanthus reacts more to C02 levels by producing greater growth than the Hylocereus. Some of this probably explains why mine has hardly grown at all, I have had it in quite a bit of sun and a richer potting mix. I have not watered anything as much as I should have this past year just due to being busy lol so I guess that is a good thing with this plant. I have a Selenicereus grandiflorus (night blooming-ornamental climbing cactus) and I have it in dappled light under a huge live oak and potted in a very sandy mixture and don't water it all that often. It grows very long branches and does pretty well. I guess I will move the yellow dragonfruit next to it and repot it in similar media and see what happens.

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Growing edible and ornamental tropicals and subtropicals and many night bloomers on 4 acres in zone 9a. Learning to live a more self sustainable lifestyle with chickens and other livestock.

I made this 5 weeks ago. It was very simple to construct if anyone is interested in the supply list and instructions. I am growing Physical Grafitti and Haley's Comet. I also have American Beauty rooting in a separate pot. I have had a huge growth spurt in the last week. I am looking forward to fruit!

That's a really nice set up marinfla. Does the post go all the way through the pot and into the ground? I like how the trellis is supported with the wire underneath. I have all mine in 3 gal pots and really need to do something with them. Some of them have several branches but keep getting broken off because I have nothing supporting them lol.

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Growing edible and ornamental tropicals and subtropicals and many night bloomers on 4 acres in zone 9a. Learning to live a more self sustainable lifestyle with chickens and other livestock.

Has anyone noticed American Beauty being more cold hardy that other varieties? I left my potted dragon fruit out this season to fend for themselves. Due to them being pretty tasteless they did not make the cut for be moved into the greenhouse. I had physical graffiti, American Beauty, Oblong, and Purple haze. All are total mush aside from the American beauty that seems totally unharmed. They were all in the same pot so I am not sure how this is possible.

Yes, the post is through the bottom of the pot and into ground about 18 - 24 inches roughly. I just didn't want the plants growing directly in the ground so this was the next best solution. It is a very sturdy set up.

Hey I like the idea of this thread! Below is a picture of my progress of growing dragon fruit so far. My brother gave me a tip that there was this rogue dragon fruit vine growing in this public park in Boca Raton FL, so equipped with gloves a trash bag and some hand clippers we went guerrilla and got some cuttings (the first picture) this was back in June of 2011. Next, I built a crazy trellis out of 4x4's 2x4's and pieced it together with dry wall screws. Pretty rugged job as I did it all without a level and tape measure just screwed it all together and buried the 4x4's about 1.5 ft deep. The cuttings were so easy to root just let them dry out for a day and stuck one cutting on each flat side of the base of the 4x4. Also I bought some long zip-ties from home depot and as the cuttings grew larger I would zip tie them to the trellis to promote the roots to latch onto the trellis and after awhile I would cut off the zip-ties. The second picture is probably 5 months after planting and the final picture was taken in mid january of 2012. I can't believe how easy it is to grow dragon fruit and it literally just grows and I never water it a perk of it being a cactus I guess. Really hoping it fruits this year, excited to see which type of dragon fruit this is...

Not exactly sure about why the Yellow DF is so much more difficult for many of us to grow. Leo Manuel from the CRFG San Diego has it growing in his backyard in full sun and it fruits pretty well. My yellow DF grew more in about 1 month under artificial light than it did all year outside. I read somewhere that the Yellow DF are supposed to be able to withstand more sun but they are less cold hardy and get badly damaged by frost.

Frankies Red is supposed to be a cross between a Yellow DF and a Red Fleshed variety. From what I've read online, people are suggesting that the Yellow DF will grow better and produce larger fruit when they are grafted onto a Red fleshed DF variety, they didn't mention grafting onto a white fleshed variety. My easiest to grow and fruit variety is the Vietnamese White so I will attempt to graft some Yellow DF on my Vietnamese White and also my Halley's Comet.Simon

Hey I like the idea of this thread! Below is a picture of my progress of growing dragon fruit so far. My brother gave me a tip that there was this rogue dragon fruit vine growing in this public park in Boca Raton FL, so equipped with gloves a trash bag and some hand clippers we went guerrilla and got some cuttings (the first picture) this was back in June of 2011. Next, I built a crazy trellis out of 4x4's 2x4's and pieced it together with dry wall screws. Pretty rugged job as I did it all without a level and tape measure just screwed it all together and buried the 4x4's about 1.5 ft deep. The cuttings were so easy to root just let them dry out for a day and stuck one cutting on each flat side of the base of the 4x4. Also I bought some long zip-ties from home depot and as the cuttings grew larger I would zip tie them to the trellis to promote the roots to latch onto the trellis and after awhile I would cut off the zip-ties. The second picture is probably 5 months after planting and the final picture was taken in mid january of 2012. I can't believe how easy it is to grow dragon fruit and it literally just grows and I never water it a perk of it being a cactus I guess. Really hoping it fruits this year, excited to see which type of dragon fruit this is...

Those are really nice healthy looking cuttings. They are growing really nicely too on the trellis you built. Does anyone know what variety they may be? Maybe someone has seen them with fruit on them to ID. What part of Boca Raton is the park? It would be a sight to see them growing wild like that. I would love to see it. Hopefully for you they are some fantastically sweet tasting variety! Great Job.